About Time
by Ccuriouser
Summary: Affected by the Lust Potion, Hermione did something she may regret later...or not. SS/HG. HEA as always.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger, the brain of the Golden Trio, the brightest witch of her generation, the newly promoted senior researcher specialized in Charms and Arithmancy in the Department of Mystery, was nervous. She was at a Muggle bar near the British Museum, a lovely place to relax for a couple pins without being recognized by wizards or witches. A nicely fit navy blue dress showed off her curves, its open-back design was not too low for her to feel uncomfortable yet low enough to present most of her smooth back. Her wild curls were put up by some complicated makeup charms she learned from Lavender. More than one man had tried to approach her but she was dressing up to attract their attentions. She dressed up with the hope to impress one man, and the said man was the reason why she was so nervous and unsettled.

 _Severus Snape_. Just thinking about his name made her heart did the stupid flip-flop and she quickly schooled her face into calmness.

It has been three years since she worked with Severus Snape, and she finally determined to let him know about her feelings tonight. She chose this bar which they usually came to and under the decoy of celebrating her promotion，just to not draw any suspicion from him.

Checking her reflection from the window glass maybe the thirtieth time, she caught a black shadow by the side of her eye. Hermione instantly tensed up, only to realize it was not him. She let out a long breath, decided it would be a good idea to get something to drink before she drove herself into madness.

When Severus Snape spotted her, she was drinking her wine at the bar, her back turned toward him. The dark hair wizard almost stopped died on his track, and his breath hitched by what he saw.

 _She was breathtakingly beautiful._

With her curly hairs pulled up into a loose bun, he could get an eyeful of her smooth bare back and delectable neck. The dark navy dress served well to highlight her round curves, his hands twitched for the desire to caress the material, to see if it was as soft as it looked like.

 _Who did she dress up for?_ Severus thought with a bitter scorn. _Was she going to a date after this?_

His thoughts darken for the idea, he wanted to question her and hexed the lucky guy, he wanted to kiss her and claim her. He wanted, like he did more than a thousand times before, to tell her he loved her and to beg her to give him a chance.

 _Stop it, Snape_. He took in a calming breath, forcefully shoved those thoughts into the back of his head. _You were just friends, she would never look at you like that_. Of course, a young, brilliant, wonderful witch liked her would never have an interest at an old and ugly wizard like him. Not to mention he was her most hateful ex-professor, it was a miracle that they could become friends. And he would never let a slip of tongue ruined his friendship _again_.

One thing he _could_ do, his expression darkened further, was to give those men trying to approach her a dark murderous look to scare them off. _In here she was mine_.

"Hermione." He placed a hand on the small of her back in a possessive manner, silently claimed his right by her side.

"Severus!" The young witch turned around and smiled up at him, warm brown eyes shining happily and dreamily.

 _Dreamily?_ Before he could figure out what was off, Hermione reached out and cupped his face, her lips crushed to his in a fervent kiss. He was so shocked that for a moment he just froze, mouth slightly opened, hand still resting on her back. When her tongue slipped into his mouth, all higher reasoning flew away from him at light speed. Responded her kiss with a hungry groan, his right hand slid up along her spine into her hairs, left hand moved to cup her backside pulling her into his chest. Their tongues tangled in a delicious sensual dance, both forgot where they were momentarily and none noticed a dim flash of camera light came from the corner of the bar.

She tasted of wine, brown sugar, and mint, he was all too aware of the softness of her breasts against his chest, the smoothness of her bare back, his thumb drawing slow circles on her skin, intoxicated by the feeling of everything her. Yet even in his lust-haze state, he could pick up that something was off, something strange was mixing in the taste of her. He frowned, deepened the kiss to devour her and to analyze the unwanted taste, it took him a couple minutes for his desire-filled mind to realize what it was, and he immediately drew back from the kiss.

 _Why the hell is there Lust Potion in a Muggle drink?_


	2. Chapter 2

Severus Snape grabbed on his wand like it was his safe boat, knuckles white. Yet with his wrists magically bound to the wall beside his head, the piece of wood was as useless as a quill. He briefly wondered what has landed him in such a situation, helplessly bound to the wall with a delicious young witch having her way with his person.

 _Apparently, normal antidote for Lust Potion could not work._ He thought bitterly, fighting to control his reaction to her advances. _If what she was doing to him after he has forced a vial down her throat was any indication._ And trying to stop her only result in his current state of immobility.

 _She was so beautifully strong, magically and physically._ His thoughts went wild for a brief moment.

"Hermione, oh Gods…ah…You have to stop!" He groaned when her lips brushed against one sensitive nipple. His magic was failing him in such state of arousal, no other woman could inflame him like she did. But he had to stop her before she did something she would regret later.

"Do you really want me to stop, Severus?" She sweetly whispered while nipping his earlobe, one hand snaked down to the tent between his legs, "Your buddy here seems to disagree."

She stroked his hardening manhood through the clothes and he growled, his head flipped back, voice broken, "Fuck…Hermione." His mind was clouded with pleasure, somehow it was hard to remember why he should stop her.

Kept on playing with his hard length, Hermione studied him with awe, "You are so sexy, Severus. Oh, how I want you…" She moved down to kiss his neck.

He stiffened at the statement, all self-control rushed back. Damn, she was under the influence of the Potion. No one in their right mind would think he was sexy, nor would anyone want him. Anger built in his chest when he thought about how he would torture the one who drugged her. Focus on the anger, he finally regained his willpower and broke the restraining spell.

His motion freezing spell hit her by surprise and she froze with one hand already slipped into his trousers. _Fuck_.

Severus carefully floated her to the sofa and rearranged her into a seated position. Though not able to move, her big brown eyes looked at him with pleading and lust, clearly still overwhelmed by the effect of the potion.

Sighed with frustration, he hurriedly right himself with a few quick spells. Running one hand through his hairs, he started pacing in front of the sofa. All the while aware of her hot gaze following him. His mind hasn't been such a mess since he first became Dumbledore's spy, lust and anger and desperate all crashing inside.

He poured himself a glass of cold water and drank it in one go, the coldness successfully cooling his brain. Finally, he could think again. But the question was still there—what to do?

—

 _Twenty minutes and sixteen seconds. Was this long enough?_ The Potion Master scowled toward the closed door of his bedroom, trying hard not to imagine what was going on behind it. Not think about a certain witch touching herself in _his_ bed… He took in a long breath and slowly letting it out. Ten more minutes, and he would go check if she was done.

Another glass of cold water was down and he began to question if it was the best idea to let her release herself in his room. Sure, it would deal with the lust potion and he did not have the access to her apartment's wards, yet maybe there were other ways… But he didn't have much time to think, she needed to let this out before the Potion could do damage to her system.

 _Six more minutes._ His head fell back to the couch, mentally listing out what he would do to examine the glass of wine he took from the bar. This was not the usual lust potion he had known, and he would need his lab in the ministry to further study it.

 _Who did this and why?_ Not a revenge from Death Eaters. They preferred to do things in a more direct way. One hand ran down his face, he sighed deeply, suddenly feeling tired. That was when he heard it, suspicious sounds coming from the closed bedroom door. He sat up, wand instantly in hand.

 _He had set up a silence charm…._

The door was blasted open with a loud bang, his mind momentarily went blank by the sight of a very naked and flashing Hermione Granger. It turned out to be a fatal mistake, because the next second, he was pulled into the room by her strong magic.

 _Oh, shit._

—

 _ **Thank you for all the reviews! I really love this story but I am having troubles writing it down :( Maybe next time I will be able to write a bit longer. Sorry for the shortness of these first two chapters. This is the first juicy story I am going to write so I am having a bit issues here. No worries, I will work it out :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**This chapter is M rated, beware!**_

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"If you truly want this, Hermione. Then I will do it my way." He growled into her ears, voice a dark velvet against her skin. She moaned and arched her back, no longer trying to get rid of the restraints on her wrists. Instead, she turned her head and licked his earlobe. A shiver ran down his spine. He groaned and jerked back, breathing deep and hard to control his almost out-of-control libido.

He looked down at the witch lying on his bed, _his bed_ , naked with wrists bound beside her head by his magic. Her face flushed, lips slightly opened, gaze dazed and distanced. The Potion was stronger than any Lust Potions he had known. Severus frowned. It was purely his quick response as a former-spy to save him from being the one in this position. He had used the momentum of her movement when she tried to push him to the bed to switch their position and to restrain her.

He couldn't be sure if it were due to the varied Lust Potion or something else, but she seemed determined to find release with him. But he needed to be sure, needed to hear her say the words. He would not do anything to her without her consent.

The woman below him writhed and moaned. "Severus..." Her legs came up and wrapped around his waist, trying to pull him closer. He hissed because of this unexpected contact but hold himself firmly. His magic snapped out and tied her ankles to the bed as well.

Hermione protested with a groan, again trying to defeat his magic. Thankfully, her focus was too shattered to gather enough magic power. "Severus, please…I need you." She arched her body, wanting to get closer.

More blood rushed toward his groin, leaving him light-headed with desire. For a brief moment, he wanted to throw all the concerns in the air and just did what she had asked. When would he ever get the chance to taste her? To feel her around him? To see her face in ecstasy? She may not want to see him after what happened….

His hands curled into tight fists, and he firmly put a stopper on his train of thoughts. _No, he was here to help her, not to take advantage of her._

"Hermione, listen to me." He cupped her face with his right hand, resisted the urge to kiss her when she turned and licked his palm. "Listen to me." He moved her face to looked into her eyes, "You are under the influence of Lust Potion. Do you understand?"

She nodded while trying to lift her head to kiss him. Severus gave out a long sigh and gently pushed her head back to the pillow. He bent down and bite her lower lip, put in a little bit force, strong enough for her to feel pain. She let out a small cry, seemed to be more conscious than before. "Hermione. Tell me you understand. Tell me what you want."

"I understand. I understand." Her breathing was ragged. He knew he needed to act soon before the Potion consumed her. "I want you, Severus!"

Hearing the words, even knowing they were influenced by the Potion, made him felt like being wrapped in the sea of her affection.

"You leave me no choice, Hermione." He murmured and finally gave in.

She was already more than ready, but he wanted to explore and taste her, wanting to make her even madder with desire and to know it was him that made her so. Severus dipped down and nipped her earlobe, paying full attention to its softness and her low moans. The witch struggled and turned her head toward him. "Severus… I want to kiss you."

Her request was broken and breathless. He found a particular part of his body react too strongly to it. Fighting back the urge to follow her request, well aware he would not be able to hold back if he did, Severus held her chin and placed a gentle kiss on the corner of her parted lips.

"Shhhhh…be patient. Hermione. You will get what you want." _Eventually._

He moved down to slowly kissing and nipping and licking through her body, savor every soft skin, every sweet taste, every moans and whimper and pleading he could get. He knew this would be the only chance that he could taste her, probably the last opportunity he could get close to her since she would surely fly away once she gained back her senses.

His mouth glided down her slender neck, slide across her sharp collarbones, and landed on her soft breast. She whimpered when he sucked her pink nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue. His left hand was palming the other breast and rolling the peak between his fingers.

She was delicious. The way she moaned and twisted, the softness of her skin. He was dizzy by the taste and feel of her. His precum was wetting the head of his rock-hard cock. His hips were rolling against the bed-sheet, desperately seeking relief.

He kissed down her abdomen to her crotch. Her dark curly hairs were a lovely sight in his eyes. One finger ran along her opening to her clit, and he could feel that she was already wet and slick. Hermione bucked her hips, trying to get more contact. But he removed his finger and moved passed the part she wanted him to touch the most. Instead, he kissed down her smooth thigh, ignoring her protests. She cried out his name when he nipped at the sensitive skin on the back of her knee, "Severus, Severus, please, I want you." She was breathless with desire, Severus groaned when he saw that she got even wetter, but he held himself, insist on tasting every skin of her before he went for the main course.

She shattered like a fallen leaf when his tongue finally rested upon her clit. He inserted two fingers inside her to find the part that felt different and curved them, thrusting in and out slowly. Her moans turned into hoarse groans. Not long after he felt her walls pulsing harder around his fingers, her legs twisted, her toes curling, her cries became incoherent.

 _Yes, came for me_. His lust-clouded brain screamed triumphantly. _Be mine, even just for one second_.

She screamed out his name, body shaking violently when her orgasm took her. Eyes closed and face flushed. _Wonderful._ Severus wanted to burn this picture in his mind.

His desire to claim her overcame any reasoning he had scarcely left, Unable to resist the urge anymore, Severus bent down and bite on her shoulder, groin thrust against her bare thigh involuntarily. Hermione gave a small yelp of surprise but soon fainted into unconsciousness thanked the effect of the potion. Already on edge, he came quickly with a muffled growl. Let go of her soft flesh. He licked his tooth-marks like a large cat licking his mate. The satisfaction he felt seeing his mark on her was overwhelming, and he wanted nothing more than to stay here forever.

"Mine." He growled into her ear, low and deep and possessive, taking full advantage of her state of unconsciousness. Taking a long look at his mark, Severus dropped a final kiss on it and reluctantly murmured a soft incarnation.

Within seconds, the mark was gone, so was the Potion Master.

 _ **。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。**_

Hermione woke up in a warm cocoon with wonderful scents. She smiled and nuzzled deeper into the pillow, trying to catalog what the scents were. Herbs, ink, parchment, masculine aftershave, sandalwood…in a word—Severus. She sighed contently, feeling unreasonably pleasant. She just had the most delicious dream about the man, and now woke up with his scents…

"Oh, shit!" The bar, the drink, the potion. Memories rushed back in full-strength, Hermione sat up on the bed with a pale face and immediately hit by the parchment floating on top of the bed. _Severus' bed_. Her already scrambled mind just could not help but supply this tiny bit of information to her, her face turned into a funny shade due to the efforts of trying to blush and pale at the same time.

"I will meet you at the laboratory. –S." The familiar spiky handwriting carried the least-wanted message, Hermione covered her face with both hands.

 _Oh, shit._

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 ** _So here goes my first attempt at M-rated scene. To be honest, it was harder than I thought it would be. But alas, I finally got it done. Please review and tell me what do you think. XOXO_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Sorry for the delayed update, my Muse for this story had gone on a vacation and just came back._**

—

By the time a slightly flushed Hermione Granger rushed into the Potion Laboratory of the Department of Mystery, Severus has already set up a workbench for analyzing the potion. The wine has been transferred into a glass vial while the empty glass wine was put aside under a stasis charm, no doubt waiting for her attention.

His eyes snapped up the moment she stepped into the room. Their gazes briefly mingled. Hermione felt heat creep up on her cheeks. Suddenly, the well-planned apology vanished from her brain. His eyes averted and dropped back down to the cauldron in front of him.

"Hermione." His greeting was clipped and unnecessarily formal, much like the first time they met to work on a project. Hermione felt her heart sank a little bit lower, self-loathing started to rear its ugly head, and a burning anger toward whoever was behind this scheme slowly creeping into her veins.

But it was not the time to find a dark corner and buried herself. She needed to set things right before this awful accident completely ruined this hard-won friendship.

 _At least now you know his interest in you was only professional._ She let go of a painful breath.

Gathered up her courage, she walked near Severus—who seemed to be wholeheartedly focusing on the potion before him. "Severus, I am sorry…" She tentatively reached out to place one hand on his arm, but he drew back with a sharp movement like he has been stung.

Her heart clenched at his rejection, her shoulders dropped and she turned around, ready to leave.

 _Maybe it was too late already._

—

He knew that she had mistaken his reaction as rejection and he silently cursed himself for his idiocy. But he couldn't tell her that her touch ignited him, could he? That when he looked at her he wanted to push her to the wall and kissed her.

For Merlin's sake, Hermione has been a victim of a lust potion, and instead of helping her to get over the shock, he was acting like a bastard.

"Hermione." He sighed, forcing his voice to be gentle. The curly-haired witch stopped and turned around, hurt obviously written all over her face.

 _Damn_.

"Hermione, I apologize." He moved away from the workbench and stopped in front of her, his hand stretch out, trying to comfort her but decided it wouldn't be the best course of action after what he had done to her. He cleared his throat, the feeling of uneasiness creeping up his spine.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Severus." The witch frowned over his words, clearly confused. "I know you didn't want to do any of those things. And the things I've done! I should have known when I drank it. I…"

"Hush, woman, do stop your ridiculous babbling." He almost laughed at what she said, but he knew it would only upset her further. _Didn't want to? He bloody love to!_ "You were drugged, Hermione." His voice was serious and sincere, "I have to apologize for my behaviors. You must believe me when I said I would do anything if there were other means to solve the situation."

Oddly, her face dropped a little after hearing what he said. But she quickly schooled her expression into a determined stubbornness that he knew too well.

"No, Severus, listen…" Her statement was interrupted when a slightly disheveled, obviously sleepy dark-haired young wizard walked into the room. His short hairs were sticking out of his head, the half-buttoned Auror uniform hanging loosely on his thin frame.

"Hermione. Snape. I heard there was an accident?" For the first time in his life, Severus felt relief to see Potter. He showed up at the right time (for once!) to stopped the beginning of an apology merry-go-round.

"I believed I informed Mr. Malfoy, Potter. Why are you here?" He walked toward the young Auror, gestured him to move into the adjacent office

"I asked Harry to come." Hermione admitted shyly and walked with him. _Of course_ , Severus mused, heart warming a little just like every time they did something in synchronized.

"And since we are partners, we informed each other." Draco Malfoy stepped into the office. His clean and perfect appearance explained the slight delay compared to his partner, "Severus. Granger. What happened?"

"Well, I…we…him…" A lovely shade of pink showed up on her cheeks, spreading down across her neck and disappeared down the neckline of her robe. The image of her—flushing and naked—presented itself in his mind without invitation. He violently shoved it aside.

 _Focus, man!_

"I will fill them in, Hermione. If you would, please examine the wine glass. I believe there were magic residues on it."

—

"Sure, thank you. Severus." She was so relieved that she almost ran back into the lab, leaving a curious Harry and an amused Draco behind. _Yes, better let Severus do the talking._ Or she would most likely be babbling and gave out too many details.

What would she say anyway? "I was drugged with a lust potion and almost rapped Severus. And then he tied me to his bed and gave me the most mind-blowing oral sex I had in my life"?

Yes, definitely should let Severus handle this.

Taking several deep breaths, she turned her focus on the innocent-looking wine glass in front of her.

 _It is time to tear you apart, bastard._

—

"Are you sure it was an all-muggle bar?" Potter asked after he briefly described what had happened, wisely omitted the details of how he had 'helped' to solve the issue. Potter didn't suspect a thing, but based on the smirk that was on Draco's face, the blond would no doubt cornered him later. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, it was in a muggle location, full of muggles. We have yet ran into someone that recognize us." He snapped. Potter wrote something down on his writing pad, frowning. He turned to Draco, and something exchanged silently between the two partners. It was surprising how well they had worked together.

"I am not the expert in Potion," Draco said with a frown, "but I do remember muggle drinks would interfere with a potion so that its effect would be neutralized. That's why my father always bring a bottle of muggle wine with him when he went out for social events."

"That's true." Severus nodded, fingers tapping on the wooden table. "I believed the magic on the wine glass was served to preserve the potion until Hermione touched it. Therefore, most of the potion wouldn't be affected by the wine."

He gave a long breath, feeling his temples throbbing. "The potion was also specifically crafted for her. I detect the use of her body part in it. Most likely her hair."

Potter's lips pinched together, anger and concern flashing behind his irises. "Someone was targeting Hermione?" His voice was clipped.

Even Draco looked worried, he knew how much she meant to his godfather.

"I believe so." Severus felt anger roaring inside him as well, but suppressed it with practiced self-control. Anger was the worse enemy when one tried to think clearly. "The lust potion was an alternation I've never seen. It would take someone with near-master level potion skills to make one. My guess will be a Potion apprentice or someone who quitted before he or she got mastery. If it was a Potion Master, I should at least have heard something about it, this is, despite it being misused, a very brilliant modification."

Draco looked deep-in-thought, "This person could also be somehow familiar with Auror working procedure."

Severus lift an eyebrow, uncertain what he meant by that.

Harry, well-used to his partner's train of thoughts, caught on immediately. "It would take hell long of a time to get the boss to approve a search on a muggle establishment. Not to mention bring in muggles for interrogation." His hand balled into a fist.

Surprisingly, Draco reached out and gently put a hand on it before quickly retreated. The tension on Boy Wonder loosened a little. Severus' sharp eyes didn't miss the details, but he didn't say anything. Everything could wait until he was sure Hermione would be safe.

"Is Augustus Mcgowan still the head of the Auror Department?" The Potions Master asked quietly, leaning back on the chair, a smirk on his lips.

"Last time I checked, he still is." Harry answered, confused. Draco, however, had a similar smirk on his face.

"He owes me a favor for this _special_ potion I brewed for him." Severus nodded to his godson, pleased that he had caught on. "Let him know I am calling in the favor and you shall get your pass in no time."

Then he stood up, overcame by a sudden need to check on the young witch. "And do it quickly, we don't want that bastard got away with this." His look was predatory and murderous, liked a wolf baring its teeth to its prey. Harry and Draco shuddered, suddenly remembered the wizard before them was not just a Potion Master, but a double spy with blood on his hands.

—

When the boys and the wizard walked into the lab, Hermione had just finished examining the wine glass. She greeted them with an absent wave, a deep frown on her forehead. The magical signature she revealed had an uncomfortable familiarity with it, but she couldn't quite put her fingers on what it is.

 _Who was it? It was someone she knew…_

With a few long strides, the dark-haired wizard stopped by her side, a comforting shadow radiating warm. Unconsciously, she leaned into him slightly, didn't notice the blond Auror observing them intently. Severus took one look at her and raised a hand to stop the boys from opening their mouths.

Hermione was grateful for his considerate. He always knew when she needed time to think.

She turned to smile briefly at him and squeezed his hand, then turned her attention back to the floating runes and magical fields in front of her. Hermione closed her eyes, wand drawing along the runes and sensing the magical signature again—a female no doubt, not young, the magic was mature and not quite pure, a little darkness but not much. An image formed in her head, a shape of a witch with a pair of glasses, but the details were too blurry to make out her actual identity.

She sighed, opened her eyes and pressed her temples. Cool fingers nudged aside hers and started rubbing slow circles on her skin, she hummed contently, eyes closing again.

He did this every time, just as she would massage his hands after he spent an extremely long time brewing or analyzing a potion. She was the one that started it, simply as a way to express her gratitude after he had investigated a hard potion for her. _It had nothing to do with her fascination of his hands. None._ But then when he saw her pressing on her temples couple days later, he took over and massaged her headache away. From there, it slowly developed into a strange kind of routine between them.

The pressure he applied was always just right. She felt like she was going to purr under his clever fingers like a well-rubbed cat, then memories of other things that his clever fingers have done that actually made her purr jumped into her mind. She blushed, opened her eyes and gently patted his hands to let him know she was alright. Trying hard to ignore a staring Harry and a contemplating-looking Draco. _Oh Merlin, she had totally forgot they were here._

His hands slid away, he stepped around and again stood by her side.

"Tough one?" He asked, indicating the boys that they may ask their questions.

She nodded, sitting down on the laboratory stool. "I know this person. Her magical signature was very familiar, but I can't picture her face. I will need to check the magical signature records tomorrow after the office is opened."

"She?"

"The perpetrator is a female?"

Harry and Draco asked almost at the same time. They looked at each other with shaking head, exchanged a look, then Draco spoke again.

"It makes sense actually. Using lust potion rather than direct attack seemed more like the M.O. of a female."

"It only means the one that cast the spells on the glass is a female, whether she is the one making the potion still reminds to be seen." Severus added, his voice deep and calming, she shifted a little closer to him. "Female Potions Master is rare. I only know a handful of Potions apprentices are females. The chance that the potion maker is a male is high. Keep an open mind."

"You mean there are two perpetrators?" Harry was frowning hard now, biting his quill.

She blinked, looking up at Severus. She had thought the one charmed the glass would be the one drugged her as well. "What do you mean by 'the potion maker'?"

He briefly explained what he learnt about the potion to her, and her face paled. Someone was targeting her specifically?

"They won't get to you again. I will make sure of that." His voice was hard when he said that, teeth gritting. She softly placed a hand on his arm, smiling.

"Thank you, Severus. But I can protect myself. You don't have to take so many burdens on yourself."

He looked down at her with emotions storming behind his eyes. His mouth opened, trying to say something, but a pointed cough interrupted him.

"Severus, what makes you think there are two people behind this?" Draco asked politely. Harry was blinking and looking back and forth between her and Severus.

"I couldn't find any magical signature within the potion, just some pieces of magic residues." He answered with a frown, arms crossed. "It wasn't easy to cover a magical signature. Potion making needs magic input from the brewer all the time. Most of the time you won't even notice your magic has flowed into the potion. It was another reason why I believe the maker has Potions Master level education."

He paused, finger tapping his arm. "For someone who was so good at concealing his signature in a potion, it is hard for me to believe that he would leave any signature on the glass."

"There was some concealing on the signature," Understanding drained on her, she bit her lips, thinking hard. "but nothing too high-end. You are right, Severus, someone that good at erasing his signature wouldn't do such a poor job."

"I see." Harry wrote more things down on his pad, flicking through his notes to make sure he got everything. He and Draco did that partner-look-exchange again. They straightened and he closed his notepad. "Alright, we will go ask Mr. Mcgowan for the warrant to search and interrogate muggles once he returns to his office…"

"After you stepped out of this lab." The Potions Master said firmly, "You will go ask for the warrant right after this."

"We can't just barge into his home and ask for a warrant, even though I really want to." Harry shook his head. "He wasn't a very nice person."

"I will send him a Patronus before you leave. Just go and wait at the Auror office, you will get your warrant." When everyone looked at him with rounded-eyes, he simply added with a dark grin. "It was a _very_ special potion."

Hermione could tell that both boys had all sorts of ideas bubbling inside their head, but wisely chose not to voice them.

"Alright, we will get that and start the investigation as soon as possible. We will keep you updated." Harry then turned to her with a softer, less businesslike expression. "Hermione, you should go get some rest before you check the magical signature in the morning, which was yet a couple of hours away. Preferably somewhere safer than your apartment, we wouldn't know if there will be more serious attacks."

He scratched his head, looked a little embarrassed, his unruly hairs got even messier. "I would suggest you stay at Grimmauld Place with me. But there was a little accident," His eyes flicked to Draco briefly, "and I am currently living at somewhere else."

"Oh my god, Harry. What happened? Why didn't you tell me about it?" She was instantly worried. Is there an attack from the reminding Death Eaters? They were like old gums under your shoes; you could never clean them all out.

"Nothing serious. Really!" He replied quickly, "My kitchen was blown up when someone was trying to cook, that's all. I found it rather embarrassing, that's why I didn't tell you guys."

She narrowed her eyes at him, not sure if she should trust him.

"It is true, trust me. Hermione." His face was all red now, which normally happened when he tried to convince people what he said was true, which only made it looked more like a lie. But she knew him, so she knew he wasn't lying.

"Alright." She sighed, suddenly tired, the night's events finally caught up with her. "I can try to move to a hotel…"

"You can stay with me." Severus blunted out, looking more surprised to himself than anyone else. All heads turned to him, astonished. He wrapped his robe around him, mouth pinched. "I have a guest room that is serving as a storage room. No one can break through my wards."

—

 ** _Oooops, didn't mean for them to move in together. But Severus has surprised us all, so…._**

 ** _Please review! Your reviews are fuels that keeps me writing._**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Sorry for being absent for so long. This chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be. They kept going in the direction that I didn't plan for them to go. At least not yet, lol. But they always seemed to have their own minds when I started to put thoughts into words, so…. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_**

—

 _"Do you really want me to stop, Severus?" She sweetly whispered while nipping his earlobe, one hand snaked down to the tent between his legs, "Your buddy here seems to disagree."_

 _Her delicate fingers flipped open his flyer, soft hand sneaked in to take hold of his manhood. She licked and nipped the sensitive skin of his scar on his neck, lips chasing down to his chest in tiny kisses. He was overwhelmed by the sensation—the feeling of her hands, her lips, her tongue upon his flash—mental vocabulary crashed down into single syllabus._

 _"You are so hard…Severus" She gave his length several strokes, smiled when he growled out in broken pieces, "…and hot. Can I taste you?" He grew impossibly harder, lower body thrust into her hand without his permission. She grinned and playfully tightened her grip, "I will take that as a yes."_

 _She slid down his body like a snake, hot lips trailing the heated path down his skin._

Fuck, fuck, fuck. _"Hermione!" He groaned out her name, muscles tensed when her soft tongue licked along his phallus, playfully drawing circles on its sensitive head._ This witch would be the death of him.

 _His hands broke free from the restriction, pulled her up to him and captured her lips. She was so sweet, delicious, passionate._ His. All his. _She was the strongest lust potion for him._

 _Suddenly they were both in his bed and he was sucking and licking her sweet cunt until she was panting with pleasure and cried out in passion. He climbed up to kiss her again, tongue thrust into her mouth just as his hard length drove inside her. She moaned into his mouth, back arched up to meet with his powerful strokes. They were both lost in the sensation. Her hands roaming over his body, nails bit into his muscles when her second orgasm caught her. He cried out her name after several more thrusts, grunting and releasing inside her. Panting, he collapsed beside her, a hand lovingly slid down her back to give her comfort. She sighed, snuggled into his embrace after she calmed down from her climax, warm brown eyes shined happily. He kissed her forehead, feeling extremely happy and content._

 _"I love you." He murmured into her fuzzy hairs._

 _Hermione cupped his jaw, smiled fondly, "I…"_

Severus woke up into the darkness of his room, a half-smile still pinned on his face, yet the warm witch was nowhere to be seen.

Desperation drowned him.

 _Just a dream, just a fucking dream._

He would never have that happiness in his life, the moment of peace and satisfaction. Covered his eyes with one pale arm, he gave out a frustrated sigh. Damned whoever made that potion, damned that idiot who drugged Hermione. He would hex him all the way to hell once Potter and Draco caught that son of a bitch, career be damned.

No light was coming through the thick curtains hanging on his windows, the silent darkness pressing down on him, slowly dragging him down to hell. He sighed again, knowing sleep has left him.

"Silly dreams." He grumbled, shifting out of bed. Didn't bother to turn on the light, he cast a wandless cushioning charm on his feet and walked briskly toward the kitchen. His steps slightly dragging due to the lack of sleep, but the thick carpet absorbed the sound dutifully.

After living in a dungeon for nearly two decades, carpet became a luxury he greatly appreciated. The thin cushioning charm allowed him the pleasure to feel the dense wools caressing his feet—a welcome distraction from his mingling thoughts. It has cost him a fortune to get this premium wool carpet—magical variety, repelled all liquid and dust and whatever trashes that were generated from daily activities—but it had worth every Galleon. _He really should thank Lucious one day._ He thought idly, almost stepped into the kitchen when he heard a soft clink coming from that direction. His old reflection jumped to live before any rational thoughts could come forth. His wand slice through the air, soundlessly landed into his waiting palm. Before he realized, he has covered himself with a Disillusioned Charm. Cautiously, he peered around the corner.

His breath caught in his throat.

 _Venus was in his kitchen._

Beside the window, leaning against the kitchen counter, she was a picture of the most bewitching Goddess. Her luscious body was covered by a soft-looking nightgown, thick enough for the cool air that always lingered wherever he resided yet somehow still was able to highlight her alluring feature. Her dainty fingers wrapped around a dark green tea mug with a silver Hogwarts' Crest on it—a Christmas gift from Minerva that the young witch quickly claimed to be hers before he could dump it into a forgettable dark corner. Hot streams wafting from within, bringing the spicy aroma of hot tea with them. Before his questing eyes, she lowered her head to inhale the fragrance and sighed. Her eyes closed, curly brown hairs dripping down her back, silvery moonlight dancing within their waves. Because of her movement, one strand of the silky looking locks sneaked past the barricade of her delicate ear and fell forward, hanging beside her cheek. His fingers twitched, wanting hopelessly to reach out, to touch, to….

He snapped out of his reverie and waved his wand, terminated the Disillusioned Charm.

—

Hermione was startled when she turned around to get more tea and found Severus looking at her, leaning against the kitchen doorframe with arms crossed.

"You didn't turn on the light." He remarked lazily, voice rough from sleep. Heat crept up her cheeks and she secretly thanked the darkness for hiding her reaction to his voice.

"I like the darkness." She said simply, picked up the kettle to fill her cup, covertly observing him.

He was wearing a dark T-shirt and his sleeping pant, his feet were bare with only a faint shimmering of the Cushioning Charm underneath. Her gaze lingered on his bare feet—they were slender and simply…beautiful. She never knew herself to be a foot fetish, but his feet enchanted her to no end. The fact that she so rarely saw them only added to the attraction. He moved closer and filled his own cup, her eyes drifted to rest on his lean muscular arms. They flexed deliciously with his every move, gave her an almost unstoppable urge to touch and play with them, to run her fingers down his firm skin and entwined her fingers with his strong ones.

Her mouth watered and she lifted her eyes to his face. Her gaze collided right with his. Her face flushed for being caught by the object she was ogling.

Trying in vain to cover her embarrassment, she took a long drink from the tea mug and moved back to the window, looking out to the never-ending sea of city lights. _Who knew Severus Snape would have a luxury apartment in the heart of London with magically protected wool carpet covering every inch of it?_ Her lips curved up into a triumphant little smile, pleased to be one of the few who had access to such intimate knowledge about him. Being able to walk bare-footed to even the kitchen and the bathroom was definitely one of the most enjoyable things she had ever done, yet she still hadn't gotten him to tell her how much he had paid for the rugs.

He followed her to the counter and leaned over beside her. Their body so close she could feel his heat and the musky scents coming off him, stronger than usual due to his sleep. Her face flushed again, hands closed around her tea mug to stop herself from doing something foolish—like touching him.

"Why?" He asked quietly, his long fingers resting against the cool surface of the counter.

"Hmmm?" She chanced a glance at him, confused.

"Darkness is not a thing to love, it drowns you, suffocates you if you dare to stay too long. Don't you prefer light and fire? After all, you are such a Gryffindor."

She huffed, knowing he was teasing her. "Sometimes the light is too much, too noisy. Darkness makes me calm, gives me the quietness I need for thinking. Besides, it is not entirely dark in here, isn't it? The moon is shining rather bright tonight."

"Hmmm." He shrugged, took a sip of his tea.

She hid her expression behind her tea mug, wondering why he seemed to dislike darkness. For a man whose wardrobe seemed to consist mostly of black, it was almost intriguing to know his distaste toward darkness. They fell into silence, looking out the window together, nursing their cups.

Standing in silence with him was soothing, way better than the chaotic state her brain conjured up when she was alone. So she pushed the questions bubbling inside her aside, intend to enjoy the quiet peace he brought her. Little by little, the familiar calmness when near him gently washed over her, rinsed away the worries that kept her out of her bed after barely two hours of sleep.

 _He was so warm._ She yawned, drowsiness seeping through her bones, didn't even register the fact that she had shifted to lean against his side. Drifting between awareness and sleepiness, a question passed cross her mind.

"Why didn't you turn on the light?" She asked sleepily, turning her head while absently nuzzling his arm to look up at him. Under her cheek, his muscles flexed and tensed. She saw the movement of his Adam's apple bobbing up and down a few times before he turned and looked down at her—eyes half-lidded and gaze heavy enough to pin her down.

"It is bright enough in here." He said simply, voice gravelly and slightly husky.

Butterflies ruffled in her stomach. Did he mean the moonlight? Or did he….

Just then, she caught a glimpse of a something moving toward them out of the corner of her eyes. She turned quickly, her wand snapped into her palm, only to find herself face to face with a… _floating chinchilla_?

"Bugger." Severus murmured, shifted so that now his back was leaning on the counter.

The furry little creature squeaked, its ears and nose twitched curiously, silver grey furs shimmering in the moonlight. Hermione was rooted to the floor, eyes blinking. _Is this...Severus' familiar?_ Slowly, it floated closer and sniffed her nose, then swirled around her as if checking her out with occasional sniffing.

Instinctually, she knew she was being judged. Just like Crooks took it upon himself to check every intruder she brought home, this little creature was determining her worthiness of entering its domain. _This must be how her friends felt when they first met Crooks._ She thought, noticing the wizard next to her was looking at them with amusement.

Her heart did a strange flip-flop, gaze captured by the tiny upturn on the corner of his mouth. She swallowed, mouth dried…then yelped in surprise when a furry weight settled on her head, tiny squeaks coming above her.

She sighed, defeated. "My head is not a chinchilla nest." She murmured, watching Severus stretched out his palm to let the little creature floated down on it, rescued her from the fate of being a chinchilla stand.

"This is Bugger." He grumped, almost accusingly, yet his slim fingers were gently scratching it behind the ear. "Hagrid gave her to me when I left Hogwarts. She refused to bugger off." Bugger purred, clearly enjoying the attention bestowed upon her, dark round eyes closed into slits.

 _Bugger?_ Hermione chuckled. _How very Severus._ "I've never seen her before."

He didn't answer her right away. Instead, he held out the purring fur ball toward her. His hand gently picked up hers and positioned it so her left palm was facing up, fingertips touching the side of Bugger, his fingers sure and warm underneath her skin. She blushed, heartbeats quickened up.

Bugger shifted unwillingly and sniffed her fingers, her nose was small and wet, pushing against her skin. Hermione felt her heart softened, a slow smile appeared on her lips. Seemingly satisfied with her inspection, Bugger floated to her palm, her tail twisted impatiently, waiting for Hermione to give her the proper pat. Hermione indulged her, running her hand through her unbelievably soft furs.

"She is so soft…" She said almost dreamily. The furs underneath her fingers were thick but soft as clouds, she felt as if she was running her hand along the highest quality of silk. Her fingers following the trail of Bugger's backbone, sliding down to her bushy curly tail which bounced under pressure. Hermione chuckled again.

"Magical floating chinchillas—or if you would like to use their real name—Crinitias, share almost identical physical attributes with Muggle chinchillas. For example, they sprout 60 hairs per hair follicle on average, giving them the softest furs among land animals." His thumb rubbing the area between Bugger's two fan-like ears lazily, earning himself a loud purr from the furball. His gaze following the motion of her hand that was caressing the Crinitias' silky furs. Her interest raised by his lecture. "Their behaviors, however, are related more to feline's—exploratory, bossy, and prefer to going by themselves. This little bugger," He tapped his index finger lightly on Bugger's right ear. Her ear twitched and she squeaked disapprovingly. "is even more anti-social than I am. You are the first one she met after Hagrid gave her to me. She seemed quite taken by you."

"Is she?" She murmured, attention shift from his methodical hand to his face. His gaze was pressing down on her again, his eyes half-lidded. They were so close, with only the Crinitia between them, as if it was a barricade of some sort. She was suddenly dizzy with want, long suppressed longing welling up her chest. Tonight's conversation was full of hidden meanings, it seemed, at least to her. It reminded her that the wizard before her was a master with words—he could play them like instruments, twisted them to bend for his will. To dissect their meanings was akin to tracing after a mysterious creature through the maze—she could only glimpse the shade of it but was never able to catch its true form.

Even through the shadows, she could see fires burning behind those dark orbs. She swallowed, lips opened and closed in the barest movement. His gaze flicked downward and lingered.

Her heart pounded, loud and fast.

Then the doorbell rang.

She jumped, Bugger squeak and floated away, no doubt trying to avoid the visitor. Severus muttered something beside her and stroked toward the living room, leaving her in the kitchen, alone, unable to process what just happened. Or what _didn't_ happen.

"Potter, Draco." She heard his deep voice from the door. _Harry was here?_ She rushed out, just in time to see Harry flashing the Daily Prophet in front of Severus.

Under the headline _SECRET ROMANCE BETWEEN HERMIONE GRANGER AND SEVERUS SNAPE REVEAL!_ was a moving picture of them kissing each other passionately as if their life depended on it, over and over and over.

"Rita Skeeter." She growled through gritted teeth, fury surged.

That woman would be the bane of her life.

—

 ** _Please review and let me know how do you think about this chapter! Your review is what keep me going._**


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